Welcome to the final installment of this year’s series of Monday Motivators e-zines! It’s been a great year, and I can’t thank you enough for joining us in our continuing journey to promote workplace excellence and administrative effectiveness!

In this special edition, I want to cover a topic that’s worth repeating every year because it is so important to helping or hindering your career. Specifically, that topic is “appropriate behavior at holiday business functions.”

Ever see a movie where people at work parties are laughing it up, acting crazy and practically dancing around wearing lampshades on their heads? (I can think of one film where visibly tipsy managers and employees were toasting each other in the office – something that, from a risk-management standpoint, is almost unheard of these days!)

Well, those crazy times are long gone – though some people are reluctant to admit it. They think that meeting their colleagues socially means they can let their hair down and be themselves. And, to some extent, that’s true.

But certain misjudgments – for example, having a bit too much to drink, speaking a little too liberally about things you might otherwise prudently discuss in private, or acting in ways that detract from your professional image – can and will be remembered!

Have fun, by all means. It’s the holidays! My advice is to keep listening to that wonderful, wise voice in the back of your head that protects your professionalism so you can continue to advance in your career … and save the extra helpings of holiday joviality for your family and friends.